Trapped
by BLav527
Summary: Modern AU. Trapped in an elevator, Jaime and Brienne learn some things about each other...and themselves.


AN's: This comes to you from tumblr thanks to this prompt: _Jaime x brienne, strangers trapped on an elevator._ I know I'm not the first and I definitely won't be the last. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: GRRM owns them.

* * *

Brienne smiled as she stepped off the treadmill. She wiped the machine down quickly, humming to herself as she made her way to the elevators. It had been a great work out.

It had been a great _day_ , really.

Her boss had given her a raise, she'd scored the last chocolate chip muffin at the bakery, and she'd given her trainer a run for his money.

She pressed the button to go down to the locker rooms, finishing off her bottle of water as she bounced a little on her feet, still on a buzz from her workout.

The elevator doors opened to reveal a lone passenger- a man with blond hair that fell over green eyes. Green eyes that looked her up and down for the briefest of moments before the man reached his hand out to hold the door.

"Going down?" Something in the man's smile made her uneasy.

Then again, she should be used to the way people looked at her.

Brienne nodded and stepped inside. As the doors closed, she made a point to keep her back straight. She could feel the man's eyes on her.

"Have we me-"

"No." Brienne cut him off before he could finish.

The man let out a snort. "Of course…I would have remembered…"

Brienne rolled her eyes at the comment. She banged the empty water bottle against her thigh impatiently as she willed the elevator to go faster.

"Good work out?"

Brienne clenched her teeth.

"Yes, thank you," She said politely, taking her phone out and pretending to scroll through her texts. She hoped he'd take the hint.

He didn't.

"So what do you be-"

The man was cut off again, not by Brienne, but the soft rumble of the elevator as it stopped suddenly between floors.

Brienne grabbed the railing as the lights flickered off. The emergency lights came on automatically and she and the man cursed at the same time. Looking up, Brienne could see they were stuck between the first and ground floor.

Of course.

Perfect, just perfect. So much for her great day.

She let go of the railing slowly and went immediately for the emergency box, which opened to reveal a red phone. She lifted it to her ear, checked for a dial tone, and pressed the button.

There was nothing for a moment and then static.

"Hello? Hello? I'm on elevator number three and it's stuck between the first and ground floor."

Brienne listened. There was more static and then a gruff voice came out over the line.

"We got the alert. We've called the techs and the fire department. Are you alone?"

Brienne glanced at the man out of the corner of her eye. He was leaning against the wall now, arms crossed and watching her. "No, there's one other person here."

More static and then- "Got it. You guys hang tight. Shouldn't be more than thirty minutes - an hour tops."

There was some more static before the line went dead.

Brienne looked at the phone in her hand for a minute before she hung up. King's Landing Fitness was a six story complex with state of the art equipment, a full spa and physical therapy wing, three smoothie bars, and an Olympic sized pool…but it would take them an hour to get them out of one of six elevators?

It seemed like a joke. Brienne was not laughing.

She turned to the man with a sigh.

"They said thirty minutes to an hour."

The man let out a huff, leaning his head back against the wall and looking up with a shake of his head. "Of course."

When he looked back at her she was surprised to see him smiling again.

"So, you're good in a crisis."

Brienne gave no reply, merely shrugged and leaned against the opposite wall. She looked around the small enclosure, sighing as she starting drumming her water bottle again.

The man chuckled, his white teeth flashing. "Not a big talker, hmm? Just big everything else?"

Brienne turned her head to look at him now, her blue eyes shooting daggers.

But the man was nonplussed. He flashed her another smile as he moved to sit.

"Well, might as well make ourselves comfortable." He sat with his back against the wall and his legs spread out in front of him. He crossed his ankles and lifted his hands to rest behind his head.

"I'm Jaime, by the way. Jaime Lannister."

Brienne started a bit, recognizing the name. She recovered quickly as she looked at the elevator buttons. The ground level "G" was still lit. It mocked her.

"What do they call you, wench?"

Her cheeks flared red. He still had that same damnable smile on his face.

Brienne rolled her eyes to the ceiling and sighed.

"Brienne Tarth."

* * *

Jaime watched as Brienne moved to sit down, folding her incredibly long legs beneath her. She took her phone out of her pocket and squinted at the screen.

There was something about her. Tall and lean…her face was not much to look at…but the way she carried herself…and her eyes…an astonishing blue.

"So..." He started. "I never got to finish asking…what do you bench press, wench?"

Brienne focused on the screen, her fingers moving rapidly over the keys. "You don't have to do this," she said.

"Do what?"

"Make conversation. "

Jaime shrugged. "It might help pass the time. I left my phone in my locker…" he nodded toward her phone. "I bet you barely have any reception."

Brienne looked up at him and then back to her phone.

Jaime tilted is head back, shrugging again. "Have it your way. I'm sure sitting here in silence will make the time fly by."

He resisted the urge to smirk when he heard her defeated sigh.

"250." Her voice was soft.

Jaime quirked an eyebrow at her and sat up. "Admirable…what trainer do you work with?"

"Gendry."

He nodded. "I just started here last week to work with Qyburn up in PT." Jaime moved his hands to his lap. "But I'm thinking of switching."

Brienne's brow furrowed, as if she had only just noticed the wrist brace on his right hand.

"Why do you want to switch?"

Jaime leaned forward slightly, whispering in mock-conspiracy. "I think he's trying to kill me."

He watched as Brienne's lips twitched up in a small smile that she tried to hide by scratching her cheek. She gestured towards his hand.

"So what happened?"

Jaime scratched an invisible itch at the edge of the brace.

"Someone started something with my younger brother," He replied. "I finished it."

Brienne raised both eyebrows at him. "Your brother can't fend for himself?"

Jaime's smile softened. "With words, undoubtedly. Not so much with fists."

Brienne regarded him for a moment, her features and posture suddenly not so tense. She leaned against her side of the wall and worried her lip between her teeth as she looked back down at her phone.

That's when it hit Jaime. He snapped his fingers.

"I figured it out!" He exclaimed.

"What?" Brienne asked.

"Where I know you from…you work for Catelyn Stark. You're her assistant, right?"

Brienne tensed again at the sound of her boss's name. "Executive assistant."

Jaime pointed at her. "I saw you at the Christmas party at _Roberto's_ last year."

Brienne nodded in recognition. "That's right."

Jaime smiled in triumph. "Aren't you going to ask why I was at that party?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because it was your father's company party."

Jaime's eyebrows shot up, surprised. "So you did know who I was."

"Yes." Brienne sighed, glancing at her phone again. She typed something.

"Why didn't you say?"

"You seem well aware of who you are."

Jaime looked back down at his hands.

* * *

Brienne wiped the sweat off her forehead and pulled at the collar of her jacket. It'd been exactly thirty minutes now and it was starting to get pretty toasty in the elevator.

Jaime had already stripped out of his long sleeved t-shirt, now only wearing shorts and a muscle tee. Brienne tried not to stare at his biceps.

She pursed her lips and unzipped the jacket, pretending she didn't feel Jaime's eyes on her when took it off. He'd been unnervingly quiet the past several minutes.

Next to her, her phone buzzed and she grabbed it. Finally Pod had responded to her texts.

 _I'm at the gym stuck in an elevator with Jaime Lannister._

 _One of us will not make it out alive._

 _This is the strangest day._

 **WHAT? OMG Brienne are you okay? Do you need me to call the fire department?**

 _I'm fine, Pod. They're working on it. I'll be out soon…hopefully._

 **Should I come down there?**

 _That's not necessary._

 **So…Jaime Lannister, huh?**

 _Yes._

 **What's he like?**

Brienne looked up, unsurprised to meet Jaime's gaze head on. He didn't smile- merely looked backed at her intently.

 _He's everything I expected and…not at all…_

 **?**

 _Exactly._

* * *

"Don't think about it," Jaime said.

"Don't think about _what_?!" Brienne's tone was irritable. She was up now, pacing the small space like a wolf in a cage. "It's over an hour now, _where are they?"_

Not long ago they had heard some clanging and voices on the other side of the doors, but it had gone quiet.

Brienne continued pacing.

Jaime had moved to the wall facing the doors. "Don't think about it," Jaime repeated as she walked past him again and again. He jerked his head towards the spot next to him. "Sit down…take a deep breath…"

Brienne stopped pacing and placed her hands on her hips, glaring down at him.

He raised his eyebrows.

Brienne's shoulder sagged slightly and she gave an exasperated sigh before sitting beside him. She hooked her arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees. Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths.

"How long have you worked for Catelyn Stark?"

Brienne opened her eyes and glanced at Jaime, knowing he was trying to distract her.

"Six years," she sighed.

Jaime noted the sigh. "Six? That seems like a lot."

Brienne shrugged. "Catelyn is a great boss."

"I'm sure she is…" He leaned towards her a bit. "But is it what you _really_ want to do?"

She met his gaze head on. "Is working for your father really what _you_ want to do?"

Jaime chuckled. "Touché."

He leaned his head back against the wall and for a time they were quiet.

"It's what was expected," Jaime said finally, for once looking at the wall and not at Brienne. "Everyone expected that I'd work for him… _he_ surely expected it…" He trailed off with a shrug. "I guess I never thought of an alternative…that there _could_ be an alternative…"

Brienne bit her lip, contemplating what he told her.

"I've always wanted to run my own health and wellness center..." She started. "Something small, nothing like this place..." She paused to gather her thoughts. "I suppose I've been afraid to leave…afraid of failing…of what people would think…"

Jaime nodded in understanding.

"It seems we're both trapped," He said softly and looked around them before meeting her eyes again. He cracked a smile. "In more ways than one."

Brienne smiled back and Jaime, suddenly transfixed, leaned towards her again.

It was then that the elevator rumbled to life. They jumped up, grasping the railing as it descended the rest of the way. The doors opened with a ding, revealing a technician, two fire fighters, and the owner.

"Sorry about that, folks," the tech said with a nervous smile. "You guys, okay?"

Brienne heaved a sigh of relief. "Yes, thank you so much. It's great to finally be…" she trailed off as she realized Jaime's hand was over hers on the railing. "…free."

Jaime said nothing, the smile on his face soft now.

The owner apologized profusely and gave them gift certificates for training sessions, the smoothie bar, and the spa.

They quickly grabbed their things from their lockers and opted to take the stairs back up to the first floor.

They lingered in the lobby.

Jaime, of course, broke the silence.

"Well, while this was a huge inconvenience and terribly uncomfortable to be trapped in such small quarters with a beast of a woman like you… I have to say it was still surprisingly… " He trailed off, searching for the right word. "…nice."

Brienne snorted softly, nodding in agreement.

Jaime smiled. "So I guess I'll see you?"

Brienne nodded, shouldering her bag as she turned away. "Guess so…" She gave him an awkward wave and laughed. "Take care, Jaime."

"Take care, Brienne."

Jaime bit the inside of his cheek as he watched her leave. He fiddled with the zipper on his bag. He looked around the deserted lobby. He scratched the back of his head, letting his fingers rake through his hair as he looked down at the ground. He closed his eyes, took several deep breaths, and pulled at his hair a little before standing straight with a huff.

"Fuck it."

He ran out the door after her.

Jaime caught up with her just as she was about to turn a corner.

"Brienne!"

She turned abruptly, her eyebrows raised questioningly at him.

"What's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing…nothing's wrong. I was wondering…" He swallowed and caught his breath. "What are you doing right now?"

Brienne smiled, her eyes shining.


End file.
